Syria is using Turkey as a route to bypass sanctions and obtain material and
equipment for its weapons industry, intelligence sources have told The
Times.

While the European Union is today set to tighten sanctions on the Government
of President Bashar Assad, weapons materials from Iran, China and elsewhere
may be getting in through Turkey, in spite of Ankara’s tough public stance
against Damascus.

“We don’t think that the Turkish Government is openly encouraging the trade
but some officials know about it,” one Middle Eastern intelligence source
told The Times. “Let’s say they are turning a blind eye.”